CanSino faces headwinds in Covid-19 vaccine race

Drawing from its experience in developing an Ebola vaccine, CanSino Biologics had hoped to be one of the first companies to get a vaccine approved for Covid-19.

It got off to a good start: The company’s vaccine candidate, Ad5-nCoV, was the first Chinese vaccine to start human trials in March. Phase 2 data published in The Lancet last month showed the vaccine induced a moderate immune response in at least some individuals.

But, with Covid-19 case counts in China having subsided, developmental plans have stalled as the Tianjin-based drug manufacturer is struggling to find other countries willing to support its Phase 3 clinical trials.

With relatively low transmission of the virus in China, CanSino needs to look overseas to complete its late-stage clinical testing of its vaccine. The company said it is in talks with Russia, Brazil, Chile, and Saudi Arabia for Phase 3 clinical trials.

Efforts to start early-stage trials in Canada are also in limbo now that China’s customs officials have held up CanSino’s shipment of its experimental Covid-19 vaccines to the country, the South China Morning Post reported.

CanSino now trails state-owned Sinopharm and privately held Sinovac Biotech, which are testing vaccines in Phase 3 trials in Saudi Arabia and Brazil, respectively.